The last five years have seen a tremendous resurgence of role-playing games, from the turn-based masterpieces of Baldur’s Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, to the action-packed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. And staggeringly, it looks like that trend is set to continue well into 2026. While there’s undoubtedly a handful of games we don’t know about, even what we do have looks like it’s going to make this another banner year for RPGs.
With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the most promising RPGs of the year, from indie throwbacks to long-awaited sequels.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon
The 13th consecutive entry in Nihon Falcom’s long-running series, Trails Beyond the Horizon, promises to kick off the “beginning of the end.” This entry finally starts bringing the threads together to answer some of Trail’s biggest questions and set the stage for the grand finale — but it has also learned some key lessons from the past.
Trails Beyond the Horizon uses a three-route story system like Trails Into Reverie, following Van Arkride, Cold Steel protagonist Rean Schwarzer, and the long-awaited return of Trails in the Sky the 3rd’s Kevin Graham. But it’s also the most ambitious version we’ve seen of the action-turn-based combat hybrid system, making key changes to improve the flow of the action bits and provide more tactical depth for command battles. This is the biggest and boldest Trails game yet, and if you haven’t jumped on board the series yet, this might be your last chance.
Nioh 3
Koei Tecmo’s Nioh series has carved out its own niche in the Soulslike genre, fusing the tense action of Ninja Gaiden with the more methodical approach of Souls. But Nioh 3 also looks like its striving to diverge from the formula of its predecessors, and provide something entirely new.
With open world areas that heavily lean on exploration, and two fighting styles, Samurai and Ninja, Nioh 3 looks like it could redefine Souls games all over again. Few studios understand action-RPGs like Team Ninja, and the Nioh franchise has already proven itself twice before.
Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined
Square Enix has been on an absolute bender with its remakes in the last few years, between the wildly ambitious Final Fantasy 7 project and the nostalgic Dragon Quest HD-2D games. Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined looks like a happy middle ground between those two ideas, giving a gorgeous coat of paint to one of the most misunderstood Dragon Quest games.
But Reimagined is also taking a fascinating approach to redefining the experience, cutting out sizable pieces of content and essentially remixing the entire narrative to provide a smoother experience — on top of a wealth of gameplay enhancements, including variable difficulty, faster battles, and more. In all regards, Dragon Quest 7 is about to get a new lease on life.
Crimson Desert
Crimson Desert has all the makings of a smash-hit RPG and feels like it could be primed to be the next Witcher 3. The ambitious open world game is crammed with an almost absurd amount of features and details: a massive fantasy realm to explore, martial arts combat that integrates wrestling moves, castle raids, dungeon exploration, alliances to forge, and much more.
The creators of Black Desert, Pearl Abyss, are looking to craft a truly dynamic world with Crimson Desert, one that’s molded by the decisions and actions you take. Crimson Desert is an exceptionally hard game to describe in 100 words, but it’s basically trying to bring the immersion and ambition of an MMO world to a single-player experience. And if the studio pulls it off, this could truly be something special.
SacriFire
SacriFire is a gorgeous 2D RPG inspired by some of the greats, particularly the likes of Star Ocean and Tales — and studio Pixelated Milk is even working with the legendary Motoi Sakuraba on the soundtrack. Set in a world trapped in an endless war between demons and gods, you play as a young priest named Ezekiel, trying to come to grips with his fate.
Sporting a unique hybrid turn-based-action combat system, SacriFire hopes to capture the feel and aesthetic of the classic — while providing something that feels integrally different to play.
Phantom Blade Zero
Phantom Blade Zero has garnered incredible attention since its reveal, but I can promise you, after playing the game for hours, it plays every bit as well as it looks. The high-intensity action RPG from Chinese developer S-Game certainly isn’t lacking in ambition, with dozens of different weapons, a gritty “kung fu-punk” aesthetic, and a stoic mysterious hero.
But that ultra-satisfying action is going to be what makes or breaks Phantom Blade Zero — and it definitely seems more like the former. There’s a real chance for a Devil May Cry-esque game to capitalize on a lack of real action games, and Phantom Blade Zero seems the most likely candidate at the moment.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales
The Adventures of Elliot is an exciting proposition — the first action-RPG developed by Team Asano, Square Enix’s studio behind the HD-2D games. The nostalgic HD-2D style has proven a phenomenal success so far, but based on Elliot’s demo is can also be a smash-hit for an action game.
The Adventures of Elliot is packed with a charming, colorful world to explore, a heavy dose of inspiration from Zelda, and a fairy companion that, if Bravelty Default is any indication, might have a dark secret. At the very least, it’s great to see Square Enix getting experimental again.
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
Fire Emblem: Three Houses was one of the biggest surprises of the Nintendo Switch, propelling the franchise to new heights while bringing the most interesting twist we’ve seen on Persona’s social simulation system to date. So, needless to say, expectations for the next mainline Fire Emblem game are already sky-high.
And while we’ve only seen one trailer of Fortune’s Weave, it’s already filled to the brim with promise — a fascinating colosseum setting, a potential new take on the multiple routes system, and some sneaky story connections to Three Houses. Nintendo has come out strong in the first year of the Switch 2, and Fortune’s Weave might be the feather in its cap for year two.
Control Resonant
Control Resonant continues Remedy Entertainment’s experimental era by going full-on action RPG — complete with air juggles and everything. The sequel to one of the most fascinating games of the last decade, Resonant puts you in the shoes of Dylan Faden, the supernaturally-powered brother of the first game’s protagonist.
As a cosmic entity threatens New York, the Federal Bureau of Control leans on Dylan’s powers to save the day. Remedy’s trademark brand of weirdness looks alive and well with Resonant, as we’ve seen a brutally twisted version of Manhattan — like Inception meets Devil May Cry. After the success of Control and Alan Wake 2, it’ll be interesting to see what the twisted minds at Remedy can do with a full-on action game.
People of Note
People of Note is one of those ideas you hear and ask, “Why has no one made this already?” Turn-based RPG meets pop musical, People of Note takes place in the Rock City of Durandis, following a young girl named Cadence as she takes part in the Noteworthy Song Contest.
But it’s the game’s splashy art style and inspired take on turn-based combat that make it look so promising. Battles are themed as dynamic, interactive musical performances with tempo-based bomat, while the world itself is separated out into different areas that each represent a different genre of music. It’s a bold take on an RPG that, if done right, could quickly become a cult classic.
